I was watching a video by makeup artist >>BeatFaceHoney<< where she was giving tips on how to start your makeup kit as a professional makeup artist. In her opinion, there are certain items you want to go all out on (foundations and as you grow, brushes) and other items you can afford to skimp on (mascara). As I am a beginner, I have not tested these claims, but according to her, lipsticks and lip glosses should not be a big ticket item. In her experience, no matter how much you pay for them, no matter whose name is on it, or no matter how it claims to be 24-hour wear, lipsticks and lip glosses all come off. Throughout the course of a photo shoot or wedding or event, the lip color always comes off and always needs to be reapplied. For that reason alone, it doesn't make sense to go out and buy 20 different colors at $20 a pop. She suggests buying a few cheapies here and there (especially if they are a brand that has been tried and true) and adding those to your kit. Sure, you may want special pieces, (you all know how I love Ruby Woo- that stuff DOESN'T come off), but stocking up on cheap lip sticks and glosses as fillers in your kit is a definite win. According to her.

Wet 'n Wild Lipsticks

Remembering her words, I wandered onto the cosmetics aisle at Walgreens today just to see what was going on. To my surprise, I saw a couple of lip colors from lesser known brands that had been marked down to mere pennies. I just had to pick them up. You all know I love a bargain. With my Walgreens Wellness card, I was able to get three Wet 'n Wild lipsticks for 99¢ a piece. Whoo-hoo! Can't beat that with a stick, now can you? And I picked up two Black Radiance lipsticks for $1.99 a piece. Still not a bad deal, eh?

Of course I would have gotten more colors, had there been more. But let's be for real- at 99¢ and $1.99 a pop, they were nearly all gone. However, I think I got some pretty good colors. Nude is here to stay, light pink is very Springtime, hot pink is fun, red is a classic, and purple is a Falltime vampy. All colors I will probably use. And often. Can't wait to begin playing with my new toys!!

FYI: >>Wet 'n Wild<< and NYX are budget friendly brands that are well known to be adequate substitutes for the higher end brands.